Thursday, December 02, 2004

THE BRING BACK SINCERITY SCHOOL OF GENRE INTRODUCTIONS PRESENTS BRITPOP

In the 90’s, Seattle was overcastting the American skies with grunge, their distinct and gloomy brand of cloudy rock. For the most part, we were screaming, moshing and wearing a lot of flannel. But in England, on the other hand, the British were smiling, better dressed and listening to music full of sunshine and optimism (its no coincidence that two songs on this playlist are titled “Alright”). Britpop, a genre that combined the playfulness and pop of the Beatles and the Kinks with the drama of the Smiths and the Jam, was all the rage…or rather, lacking the rage. While the music and lyrics were distinctly very English, like referring to cigarettes as ‘fags’ (Pulp’s “Common People”) or speaking of ‘hanging out in Camden’ (Lush’s “Ladykillers), some of the bands below received local success even though we couldn’t exactly figure out what they were saying with those darn accents. The opening song, ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ by The Verve is perhaps one of the best tunes imported from the country that brought us Hugh Grant (google him--he was really big then), while “Wonderwall” by Oasis is the other epic classic. Eventually, the Britpop trend spawned hundreds of sound-alikes but the bands in our playlist, like James, Blur and Travis are the ones that left the largest imprint on the British music charts. Lastly, for the full Britpop experience, pour yourself a cup of tea while listening.

1. Bittersweet Symphony – Verve
2. Wonderwall – Oasis
3. Alright – Cast
4. Slight Return – The Bluetones
5. Barney (And Me) – The Boo Radleys
6. Girl From Mars – Ash
7. Common People – Pulp
8. Ladykillers – Lush
9. What Do I Do Now? – Sleeper
10. Boys And Girls – Blur
11. Where Have You Been Tonight? – Shed 7
12. You’ve Got It Bad – Ocean Colour Scene
13. Alright – Supergrass
14. The One – Menswe@r
15. Animal Nitrate – Suede
16. Design For Life – Manic Street Preachers
17. Be My Light, Be My Guide – Gene
18. Car Fiction – Echobelly
19. Sit Down – James
20. Why Does It Always Rain On Me? - Travis
21. There She Goes – The LA’s

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